Concentrator



June 19, 1928.

A. H. STEBBINS CONCENTRATOR Filed May 1927 2 Sheets-Sheet l //\/VENTOR.'

ATTORNEY June 19, 1928.

A. H. STEBBINS CONCENTRATOR Filed May 6, 1927 2 Shts-Sheet 2 /NI E/\/TOE" BY r x. "7

ATTORNEY Patented June 19, 1928.

unirso STATES ALBERT H. STEBBINS, OF LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA.

CONCENTRATOR.

Application filed May 6,

This invention relates to (concentrators constructed to effect separation of t'he materials by forcing air bearing the materials to be treated through a discharge nozzle so that the light particles will be deflected from a straight path to a greater degree than the heavy particles.

In carrying out the present invention air bearing the materials to be separated is forced through an annular discharge slot into the bowl-shaped lower end of a receptacle, and the arrangement is such that as the air bearing the materials travels downwardly along the inwardly converging side walls of the receptacle the heavy particles will be deflected from their straight path of travel to a less degree than the fine particles.

The lighter particles that are deflected or crowded inwardly from the side walls of the receptacle to a greater degree than the heavy particles may be removed from the heavy particles by exhausting air from the rcccptacle near its central axis while the heavier particles escape from the lower end of the receptacle adjacent its side walls, and the separation of the materials may be further promoted b-y'introducing currents of air into the lower portion of the receptacle so that they pass upwardly. through the materials to carry off the lighter particles.

The present invention therefore pertains to a concentrator comprising a receptacle having inwardly converging side walls and an annular throat or nozzle for directing air bearing the materials to be treated downwardly into the receptacle so that the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly more than the heavy particles. and also to means for directing currents of air through the separatedmaterials to carry off the lighter particles. I

The various features of the invention and novel combination of parts will be best understood from the following description when read in connection with the accompanying drawings illustrating good practical forms of the invention.

In the drawings Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional. view through a concentrator constructed in accordance with the present invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 on an enlarged scale is a sectional View taken on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

1927. Serial N0. 189,381.

rials is effected in a'tubular receptacle 10,

which receptacle is provided near its lower end with the downwardly converging side walls 11 so that the receptacle has a bowlshaped construction near its lower end as shown. Air bearing the materials to be sep arated is introduced into the upper portion of the receptacle 10 through the pipe 12,

which pipe may leadfrom a blast fan not shown, or other means adapted to force the material laden air into the receptacle 10 under pressure. The feed pipe '12 preferably extends tangentially into the receptacle as shown, so that a sufficient whirling movement will beimparted tothe air and materials delivered to the receptacle to keep the materials evenly distributed throughout the air within the upper part ,of the receptable.

As stated, an important feature of the present invention resides in theconstruction whereby'air bearing the'materials to be treated is forced downwardly into the contracted lower end of the receptacle through arestricted annular throat, and to this end, in the construction shown a core 13 is mounted within the receptacle. This core is of sufficient size'to provide a narrow throat 1 1 between the outer wall of the core and the innerwall of the receptacle 10, and the core preferably tapers towards its opposite ends, as indicated by 15 and 16. This constructionhelps todirect the compressed air inthe upper portion of the receptacle towards the throat 14 and will serve to define a passage for thejet of air discharged from the throat 14 into the. lower portion of the receptacle.

Various means might be provided for supporting'the core13 centrally within-the receptacle 10 and in the construction shown this is accomplished by securing the core'to the air exhaust pipe 17 which extends downwardly into the receptacle through the upper cover plate 18. The exhaust pipe 17 is preferably provided with an inner tube 19 which is slidably mounted in the pipe 17 so that it may be raised and lowered to vary the position of the lower or intake end of the tube 19. This tube may be supported in its desired position oi adjustment by a rod 20, the lower end portion of which is connected to the tube 19 by the spiders 21, and the upper portion of the rod 20 is threaded to receive the nut which rests upon the end wall of the extension 24 provided at the upper end of the ,cnhaust pipe 17. If desired, an inner tube 25 may be mounted within thepipe 17 to telescopically receive the upper end ofthe sliding tube 19. i i

The construction so far described will serve to force the material laden air down- 'wardly through the annular throat 14 in the form of an annula jet and as this jet moves downwardly within the bowl-shaped end portion of the receptacle 1O the ainywill oe crowded inwardly towards the central axis oi the receptacle. The heavy particles within the air'ietwll be deflected from their straight path ogt travel to a less de gree than the light particles and as a result the heavy particles will travel downwardly in close proximity to the co yerging side walls 11, while the lighter particles will be deflected or crowded inwardly towards the central axis ol the receptacle] heavy particles lying .closeto the side walls 11 will escape through the lower end 26 of the receptacle into'the concentrate receiving hopthis hopper by providing the pipe 28 which leads from the lower end of the hopper to any preferred form of exhaust means." i The lighter particles which remain suspended within the air in the lower portion of the receptacle 10 will be removed from the re "per 27 and air is preferably exhausted from ceptacle by the exhaust p'pe 17 whichmay lead to a suction separator or dust collector not shown. The amount ol air carried upwardly through the exhaust pipe may be controlled as desired by adjusting the gate or valve 29. i

Some of the fine particles may tend to cling: to thelieavier particles so that they will be carried downwardly into ith'e hopper .27. and n order to reduce this tendency a deflector head 30 is mounted w thin the lower portion of the receptacle 1U. Thishead 30 has an enlarged central portion and )crs towards its opposite end-s as 'shown, and may be supported within the lower portion of the receptacle by the shaft 311 'The arrangement is such thatthe lighter particles'Wvhich might .tei d to move downwardly through the ceiitral portion ofttlie discharge opening 26 are deflected by the head 3Ov towards the side w alls ll, and in order to prevent the hire particles ii-rampa e- .ing .dowhwardly throngh the annular passagelying between the lower portion of the head 80 and the side walls 11, air is caused to pass upwardly through this annular passage. This air in the construction shown passes upwardly through the air supply pipe 32 which is slida bly mounted within a tube 2% located within. the central portion of the discharge hopper 27. The air supplied by the pipe 32 may be introduced from the atmosphere and drawn upwardly into the receptacle 10. by the suction pro duced by the exhaustpipe 17, or, itdesired, the pipe 32 may be connected to a blast fanor other means for forcing air upward; 1y through this pipe. The air supplied by the pipe 32escapes through the restricted throat 33 provided between the u, 31301 end of the pipe 32 and the head 80 anc passes upwardly into the receptacle 10 through the materials, as clearly indicated by the arrows in Fig. 1 The size of the throat 33 may be varied desired by raising and lowering the pipe which is slidalily mounted within the fixed tube 8l, and pacle ing 35 maybe provided between these two pipes to form a tight joint. Adjustable bolts 36 are provided for holding, the pipe 32 in its desired position of adjustment,"and the amount of air introduced into the lower portion of the receptacle through the pipe 32- may be controlled by adjusting the gate. or valve 37. The head supporting shaft 31 is secured to the spiders gSmounted within the tube 32.

From the foregoing description, when read in connection with the drawings, 2 it w ll be understood that since the heavy particles moving downwardly within the lower portion of the receptacle 10 are more dilli cult to deflect from their straight path of travel than the, light particles, the heavy particles will strike against and will slide down the inwardly converging walls 'll into the hopper 27, wh le the lighter particles which. are deflected or crowded inwardly away from the side walls 11 will be car-- ried upwardly by the air removed from the receptacle by the exhaust pipe 17 The a r delivered to thelower end ofthe receptacle by the pipe 32. will pass upwardly through the materials to air-sweep or extract the lighter particles which tend to cling to the heavier particles approaching the discharge end oitthe receptacle 10. The ar introduced through the pipe 32 will serve also to aid the suction means in drawing the tailings or lighter particles upwardly through the suction pipe 17. i f

In the modified construction shown in Figs. 4, 5 and 6 the construction and opera-- tion is substantially the same as that above described, except that the air exhausted from the lower portion of the receptacle 10 passes downwardly through the suction pipe 39' which pipe leads to a suction separator or dust collector, and the volume of air passing tit) downwardly through the pipe 39 may be controlled by adjusting the gate or valve 40.

The core 13 mounted centrally within the receptacle in the construction shown in Fig. 4 has its upper end attached to the cover plate 18 and this core is'held centrally within the receptacle 10 by the spacing plates 41 best shown in Fig. 6. Since the air discharged through the annular throat 14 passes downwardly within the lower portion of the receptacle without rotating about the core 13 the supporting plates 41 will not appreciably interfere with the air blast passing downwardly from the throat 14.

In the construction of Fig. 4 air fromthe atmosphere is introduced into the lower portion of the receptacle by drawing air upwardly through the air inlet pipe 42 which is slidably mounted within a tube 43 mounted centrally within the discharge hopper 27. The upper end of the suction pipe 39 flares outwardly as indicated by 44 and the upper end of the air supply pipe 42 is also flared outwardly as at 45, the construction being such that the air introduced through the pipe 42 is directed outwardly towards the side walls 11 of the receptacle to remove the lighter particles from the heavier particles sliding down the inclined walls 11 towards the discharge opening of the receptacle.

The suction produced in the lower portion of the receptacle 10 by the suction pipe 39 will serve to draw air upwardly through the pipe 42 and into the lower portion of the receptacle, as indicated by the arrows in Fig. '4, and the size of the annular discharge slot provided at the upper end of'the pipe 42 may be varied as desired by raising and lowering this pipe, which may be supported in the desired position of adjustment by the threaded bolts 46. As a result of the modified construction of Fig. 4 it will be seen that the lighter particles which are deflected inwardly towards the central axis of the receptacle will pass downwardly directly into the tailing discharge pipe 89 and'that the finer particles which tend to enter the receptacle 27 with the heavier particles will be picked up by the air currents supplied by the air inlet pipe 42.

lVhat is claimed is 1. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls, a core supported centrally within the recep tacle and having a bulging portion inter mediate its endsand adapted to form a narrow annulus or throat between its bulging portion and the inner wall of the receptacle and shapedto direct an annular jet of fluid downwardly within the receptacle along its converging side walls, means for forcing a fluid bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel adjacent said walls while the lighter particles will be therefrom the lighter particles that work inwardly away from said side walls' 2. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls, a core supported centrally within the receptacle and having a bulging portion adapted to form a narrow annulus or throat between said bulging portion and inner wall of the receptacle andshaped to direct an annular jet of fluid downwardly within thereceptacle along its converging side walls, means for forcing a fluid bearing the mat rials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel adj acent said walls whilethe lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, and a conduit for removing from the lower portion of the receptacle the fluid and lighter particles that are crowded inwardly from said side walls.

3. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls, a core supported centrally within the receptacle and having a bulging portion adapted to form a narrow annulusor throat between said bulging portion and inner wall of the receptacle and shaped to direct an annular jet of fluid downwardly within the receptacle along its converging side walls, means for forcing a fluid bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel adjacent said walls while the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, a conduit for removing from the lower portion of the receptacle the fluid and lighter particlesthat are crowded inwardly from said side walls, and means adjacent the lower portion of the receptacle for directing a fluid againstthe path of material moving downwardly within the receptacle to extract the fine particles.

4. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls, a

core supported centrally within the receptacle and having a bulging portion adapted to form a narrow annulus or throat between said bulging portion and inner wall of the receptacle and shaped to direct an annularjet of fluid downwardly within the recep tacle along its converging side walls, means for forcing a fluid bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel adj acent said walls while the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly awayfroin the walls, a conduit for removing from the lower portion of the receptacle the fluid and lighter lit) part'icles that are crowded inwardly from said side walls, and means adjacent the lower portion of the receptacle for directing jets of fluid outwardly away from the central axis of the receptacle against the mate rials carried downwardly by the air blast.

5. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided with a bowlshaped lower end having inwardly converging side walls, a core supported cent 'ally within the receptacle to form a narrow an nulus or throat between the outer face of the core and inner wall of the receptacle and shaped to direct an an-ni-ilar jet of air downwardly along the curved bowl-forming walls, means tor forcing air bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel along said curved walls while the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, and a conduit for removing from the lower portion of the receptacle the air and lighter particles crowded inwardly from said curved walls,

6. A concentrator comprising in combination a tubular receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls and having an opening at its lowor end through which the heavier particles are discharged, a core supported centrally within the receptacle to form a narrow annulus or, throat between the outer face of the core and innerwall of the receptacle and shaped to direct an annular jet of air downwardly along the converging wall, means for forcing air bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel along said converging walls while the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, means for removing from the central portion of the receptacle the air in which the lighter particles are suspended, and means for directing currents of air against the materials approaching said discharge opening to direct the lighter particles away from the discharge opening.

7. A concentrator comprising in combination a tubular receptacle provided near its lower end'with downwardly converging side walls and having an opening at its lower end through which the heavier particles are discharged, a core supported centrally within the receptacle to form a narrow annulus or throat between the outer face of the core and inner wall of the receptacle and shaped todirect an annular jet of air downwardly along the converging wall, means for forcing air bearing the materials to he treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel along said conwalls and having an opening at its lower end through which the heavier particles are discharged, a core supported centrally within the receptacle to form a narrow annulus or throat between the outer faceof the core and inner wall of the receptacle and a shaped to direct an annular jet of air downwardly along the converging wall, means for forcing air bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through said throat so that the heavier particles will travel along said converging walls while the'lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, neans for removing from the central portion of the receptacle the air in which the lighter particles are suspended, means forming an annular air inlet slot in the low er portion of'the receptacle through which air is introduced to pass through the downwardly moving heavier materials, and adjustable means for varying the size of said slot.

9,. A concentrator comprising in combination, a receptacle provided near its lower end with downwardly converging side walls, a core supported centrally within the receptacle and constructed to form a narrow annulus or throat between its outer surface and the inner wall of the receptacle and having a tapering portion above the throat for directing the air through the throat and a tapering portion below the throat for directing the jet of air issuing from the throat downwardly along said converging walls, means for forcing air bearing the materials to be treated downwardly through the throat so that the heavier particles will travel adjacent said walls while the lighter particles will be deflected inwardly away from the walls, and a discharge pipe for removing from the lower portion of the receptacle the air and lighter particles crowded inwardly from said side walls. v

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to-this specification.

ALBERT H. STEBBINS. 

